The World Beyond

Chapter Nine: 'Harry's Story'

A school-wide alarm at six o'clock in the morning roused the entire population of young wizards at Hogwarts School on the morning after Peter Pettigrew's rat had been found dead in mysterious circumstances. The alarm had been accompanied by the strict instructions that each and every student should report to the Great Hall at precisely 7 AM. Any students not complying, the alarm had said, would be immediately brought under suspicion. Exact details of what they would be suspected of, however, had been omitted, leaving most students in an anxious - and annoyed - state.

Harry, who was all too aware of the circumstances behind the alarm, rolled bleary eyed from his bed. He hadn't fallen asleep until the early hours of the morning and he found his body protesting the idea of starting the day.

"Bloody hell." He heard Neville's voice moan. "Six in the morning. Didn't even know that hour actually existed."

A grunt of agreement came from the direction of Seamus's bed. He saw the boy's feet hit the floor and a sandy head make its way towards the bathroom as Harry swung his own legs over the edge of his four-poster. He was surprised, at first, to find himself still clad in the previous day's attire, but then remembered stumbling into the room after his conversation with Hermione.

Harry followed his roommates into their shared bathroom and found himself a spot in front of a sink. Had he been fully awake, he might have noticed how terrible he looked, but in his zombie-like state, the dark circles that somehow seemed to dominate the whole of his face beneath his eyes slipped past his notice.

"Wonder what's going on..." Dean muttered as he stuck his toothbrush in his mouth.

"McGonagall's probably got a new bug up her arse," Neville scoffed, settling himself at the sink next to Harry. "Holy Merlin, Potter, you look like shit!" Harry glanced up and caught Neville's eye in the mirror. "What's wrong with you? You went to bed so early last night!"

Harry grabbed his tube of toothpaste and gave it a violent squeeze. More ended up in the sink than on his toothbrush, which he jammed promptly into his mouth. "Nothing's wrong," he mumbled.

"Nothing's wrong?" Seamus was suddenly beside Harry. "You went to bed earlier than most five year olds last night and somehow manage to still look as though you haven't slept in ages, but nothing's wrong?" Harry spit his mouthful of toothpaste into the sink and splashed cold water across his face. Water running down his nose, he straightened up and turned to face his roommates.

"I just... I don't want to talk about it, all right?"

With a glare at all of them, he stalked out of the bathroom and down the stairs to the common room.

A bunch of wide-eyed first year students were already downstairs looking far too awake for the early hour of the morning. A group of third year girls were seated on Hermione's normal study sofa chattering away and Harry saw Fred and George leaning half asleep against the opposite wall, still dressed in their pajamas, complete with bed hair. Eyes scanning the rest of the room, Harry caught sight of Hermione, Padma, and Parvati sitting on the floor near the portrait hole looking far less put together than they normally did. He walked over and joined them.

"Do you know what's going on?" Parvati asked him before he had even had the chance to finish sitting down. "You'd think Padma would know, being a prefect and all," she paused to glare at her sister, "but somehow she doesn't."

Harry took a deep breath. "Why would you think I would know?" He realized too late that his tone was too edgy and self-defensive. With a light blush, he glanced down at his hands.

"I'm not accusing you," Parvati said, sounding taken aback. "Just wondering is all."

"She's asked everyone who's come within hearing range," Hermione said. Harry glanced up at her and caught her eye. She smiled gently at him and he knew that she hadn't told her roommates about his strange behavior the night before. After a second, he returned the smile.

Two human-sized shadows fell over the four of them and Harry glanced up to see Fred and George hovering over them. "C'mon mate." Fred reached his hands down and pulled Harry and Padma to their feet. George did the same for the other two girls as Katie Bell, the Head Girl, called everyone to attention.

"Now, I have no more idea than any of you lot as to what is going on," Katie called over the crowd of virtually every Gryffindor student. "Nor do I want to be awake now anymore than the rest of you do. But, Professor McGonagall has returned early from what was apparently very important business, so this must be urgent, as well. I know you all want to go back to bed, but you can't. If you don't show up in the Great Hall in ten minutes, you'll be in trouble, and if you're in trouble, I'm in trouble, which will mean you'll get in even more trouble with me. This is far too early in the morning for me to be lenient. Now, go."

Harry figured Katie's speech might have carried more weight had she not yawned at least four times while making it, but it hardly mattered as no one seemed to be in the mood to disobey anyway.

Katie and a friend of hers pushed their way out of the portrait hole. Fred and George hurried behind them, leaving Harry with the three girls.

"I guess we'd better go," Padma said while stifling a yawn of her own. "See what this is all about..."

Parvati nodded her agreement and the two girls filed into the hallway. Hermione hung back and turned to Harry once the other two girls were out of hearing range.

"Are you all right, Harry?"

"Yes," he said with a nod. "I mean, as all right as I can be on no sleep."

She glared at him. "That's not what I mean, and you know it. You were really upset last night. Is everything sorted out?" Her eyes widened in shock, as though suddenly realizing what Harry knew the other Hermione would have figured out long ago. "This thing, this morning, it's to do with whatever you were upset about..."

"Let's get a move on, kids." Neville pushed between them before Harry could answer. The other fifth year boys were right behind him; Harry shrugged lightly in response to Hermione and the two of them left the common room as well.

The Great Hall was nearly packed by the time Harry and Hermione found seats together at the Gryffindor table. Harry glanced around him and noticed that the only students who appeared to be awake at all were sitting at the Ravenclaw table. He figured with half a laugh that they were probably up studying at this hour on a regular basis anyway.

Professor McGonagall was in her seat at the center of the Head Table, a pensive expression on her face. Professor Riddle, looking equally worried, was seated on her left, but the seat on her right, where Professor Black normally sat, was empty. Harry narrowed his eyes in confusion but, glancing back at the Ravenclaw table, he saw Black talking to a young girl who he thought might have been his daughter, though clearly not the one he had seen in Hogsmeade, as this girl had long, black hair.

The clanging of a piece of silverware against a goblet quieted the Great Hall as everyone turned to look at the Headmistress. Professor Black left his daughter and hurried to take his seat as Professor McGonagall stood up.

"I have some very serious, very grave news," she began. Those students who had still been chattering ended their conversations immediately. "Last night, Mr. Pettigrew's rat was found dead on a corridor on the third floor of the school."

Before she could say anymore, the student body burst into a combination of condescending laughter and relieved conversation.

"Silence!" a voice roared over the din. The students looked up to see their Deputy Headmaster glaring down at them.

"Normally," Professor McGonagall continued tersely, "I would not take this any more seriously than any of you seem to. However, there is distinct evidence that this rat did not die of natural causes. We have good reason to believe that foul play was involved. An ominous message - I do not think I would be out of bounds to class it a threat - was scrawled on the wall above the rat in a substance that we have now identified as blood." She paused and took a deep breath. "We have not yet been able to identify what has killed the rat. In order to ensure that nothing like this happens again, the area has been blocked off and will remain that way. Any student trying to sneak into the area will find themselves immediately expelled." She took another deep breath. "I cannot stress enough the seriousness of this situation. It was only a dead rat this time; it could be a dead student the next."

She stopped talking again and sat down this time. Harry could tell, even from his seat, that she was rattled by the events of last night.

Professor Black spoke next. "Classes will continue as usual. You are dismissed to continue getting ready for the day ahead. Breakfast will be served as per normal, and the day will continue as if it were any other day. However, for safety's sake, I am suggesting and in fact requiring that no student move about the school on his or her own. Whenever in the hallways, you are to be in pairs or groups, and I advise you to be constantly alert."

As the students began to chat again, this time in hushed voices, the professors left the Head Table. Harry pulled himself to his feet and Hermione got up next to him. "Did you see..." Hermione began, but Harry cut her off with a shake of his head. She glanced around at the masses of students around them and nodded. He didn't want everyone to suspect him.

Harry and Hermione followed their fellow Hogwarts students out of the Great Hall.

"Wait up, Harry!" one of the twins called as he stepped through the doors. He and Hermione turned and saw the twins approach. "We need to talk to you," Fred continued. Harry nodded and Fred turned to Hermione. "Just to Harry, if you don't mind."

Hermione looked mildly insulted but turned away and caught up with Colin, Dean, and Seamus.

The three boys waited as the rest of the student body filed out of the Great Hall. Once they were alone, George spoke, "We don't want you to think... I mean, we don't think you had anything to do with this, Harry."

"We trust you, mate, and we don't trust people not worthy of it."

"Thanks..." Harry began.

George glanced furtively over his shoulder and pulled Harry to a more private area of the entrance hall. "The thing is..."

"The thing is," Fred interrupted. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. Ever ever ever."

"We don't want to think you did anything wrong, but you've got to admit it's kind of funny." George shook his head. "Thousand years of the school, nothing like this happens, three months since you arrive, and we've got a dead rat."

Fred shrugged his shoulders. "You've got to admit it's suspicious."

Harry nodded his head slowly. "I know. It sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? But... you've got to believe me, I had nothing to do with it. Nothing at all. I mean... I knew people would suspect me, when I saw..."

"You saw it!" Fred exclaimed.

"Well." Harry sighed. "I didn't see it, exactly. I was with Siri... Professor Black when Pettigrew came to get him, and I followed them, and I saw the rat, and the... the message on the wall."

Fred's eyes widened. "What did it say?"

Harry glanced at his feet. "Enemies of the Heir Beware. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened," he mumbled.

"What's the Chamber of Secrets?" George asked.

"It's a, well, secret chamber that Salazar Slytherin left in the school for his heir to, you know, wreak havoc on the school with."

"How do you know that?"

Harry sighed. "I had really better go talk to Professor McGonagall, hadn't I?"

Fred and George glanced at each other, then turned to Harry. "We'll go with you," George volunteered. "So you don't have to be alone and all, get in trouble for it or anything."

"Thanks." Harry nodded.

The three boys set out in the direction of the Headmistress's office together. Harry was dragging his feet a bit, dreading yet again the idea the McGonagall would not believe him, think he was responsible, and would want to kick him out.

Fred and George, who were both walking at normal paces, frequently had to slow down and wait for Harry to catch up. Though they did trust their new friend, they were both a bit worried about his strange behavior. They were also both surprised to find that Harry knew the way to the office already. After a few minutes, they found themselves in front of the securely closed entrance.

"Ah, man," Fred moaned. "Forgot there's a password. Any ideas, George?"

"Skittles," Harry said from behind him and the twins watched in shock as the entrance opened for them. Shrugging their shoulders in acceptance of another of Harry's oddities, they followed the younger boy up the staircase.

The door to Professor McGonagall's office was closed when the boys reached the top of the staircase, but they could hear voices debating heatedly on the other side. By silent decision, the three boys stepped close and pressed their ears to the door to better hear the goings on inside.

"We've got to close the school, no question!" Professor Black's voice bellowed. "It's not safe. If whatever killed that rat is still around, and I can't see any proof that it isn't, it could be a student who is killed next. For Merlin's sake, it could be one of my daughters!"

Professor McGonagall spoke next. "Sirius, I understand that you are worried. I am, too. But we have to be sensible..."

"It's sensible to close the school!"

"... and be reasonable," the Headmistress continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "We cannot close the school on the spur of the moment without the support of the governors, and one dead rat is not going to convince them."

"Will one dead student work?"

The boys could hear the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. Then, another voice could be heard. "I have to agree with Sirius here, Minerva." It was Professor Riddle.

There was silence for what seemed like an eternity to the three boys pressed against the door. Then, they could hear the voices again, but talking too quietly to be intelligible from the staircase. Then, out of nowhere, Professor Black shouted, "You can't not do something, Minerva."

Feet came stomping towards the door and if the boys had been thinking they would have moved, but they had no such lucky forethought. As Professor Black wrenched the door open, they all fell forward and landed at his feet. A surprised and amused expression on his face, the Deputy Headmaster addressed them, "Mr. Symmons, Mr. Symmons, and Mr. Potter. What a pleasant surprise."

Harry glanced up warily. Professor McGonagall was seated behind her desk, the cat called Pandora prancing back and forth across it, blissfully unaware of the previous night's events. Professor Riddle was sitting in a chair opposite the desk. The other chair was abandoned halfway across the room; Harry figured Professor Black must have pushed it there when he stood up in anger.

"Gentlemen," Professor McGonagall began, waving them into the room. The three boys scurried to their feet and made their way into the room, brushing their clothes off and trying to look respectable. "Is there anything I can help you lot with? I must impress upon you three that I have urgent matters to attend to, so if yours isn't..."

"It's Harry, really," George said with a nod of his head towards the younger boy. "Fred and I just came so as to stop him from having to wander alone in the hallways."

Professor McGonagall nodded. She didn't seem surprised that it should be Harry who needed to speak with her. "And I thank you for doing so," she addressed the twins, "but if you have nothing more to say, I suggest the two of you return to your dormitory. I daresay you might care to get dressed before classes begin?"

Fred and George looked down in unison and seemed to realize for the first time that they were still dressed in pajamas, bathrobes, and slippers. Their attire had slipped Harry's memory, too. "Right you are, Professor," Fred said with a wink and a smile. "We'll just be off, then." With that, the two boys disappeared out the doorway and Harry could hear their feet going down the staircase.

Professor Black shut the door behind the twins and motioned for Harry to take the seat he had vacated. Harry slid into the seat and looked cautiously at the Headmistress.

There being no more empty chairs in the room, Black stood behind Harry and placed his hands on the back of the chair. Harry was reminded for just a moment of his time spent in Professor Dumbledore's office just following the Triwizard Tournament. This situation seemed, in its own way, eerily similar to that one. As he tried to push those memories from his mind, he had the fleeting thought that though it seemed ages ago, the third task had only taken place the spring before.

"Mr. Potter." He looked up to see Professor McGonagall looking down at him and realized she had been talking to him for a moment.

"Yes, Professor." He turned his attention fully to her.

Professor McGonagall smiled gently at him. "I assumed, Mr. Potter, that you came here to tell us something, something important, perhaps?"

Harry sat up straighter. "Yes," he began slowly. "It's about the thing... the thing last night, with the rat."

"Professor Black tells me the two of you were together when Mr. Pettigrew fetched him."

"Yes, Professor." He nodded.

"I'm sure that was troubling for you..."

"No." Harry shook his head. Professor McGonagall looked surprised. "I mean, yes," Harry corrected, "it was. But that's not it, that's not what I need to tell you about."

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow. She adjusted her glasses and removed the prancing cat from her desk. "Go on, Mr. Potter."

Harry took a deep breath. He glanced over at Professor Riddle, then let his eyes stray to Professor Black behind him, before turning back to the Headmistress. "Have you heard of the Chamber of Secrets? I mean, before last night..."

"I have heard mention of it," Professor McGonagall confirmed with a nod of her head. "The governors would hardly have let me become Headmistress of Hogwarts without a working knowledge of the school's mythology. Until Professor Black owled me, however, I was fully willing to pass it off as just that: mythology."

"Are we to understand, then, that it is not?" Black interrupted.

All eyes were back on Harry for the answer to this question. He was beginning to feel really nervous; Professor Riddle's presence was only putting him more on edge.

"No." Harry shook his head, glancing down at his feet. "It's very real," he mumbled, scuffing his left foot lightly along the ground. He heard Pandora hiss as his foot neared the desk, but couldn't see where her hiding place was.

"Harry," Professor McGonagall called his attention away from his feet. "I'm going to need you to tell me how it is that you know the Chamber of Secrets is real. I need you to tell me all that you know about it. I cannot begin to stress how urgent this is."

Professor Riddle shifted in his seat next to Harry. "I don't see why we should take this boy's word on things." He looked at Harry. "Nothing against you, Mr. Potter, but you've only just come to this school. How is it that you know things even the Headmistress does not?"

Harry did not know what to say to that. He assumed that Professor Riddle hadn't been told of his situation.

"I have reasons to put some faith in whatever Mr. Potter might have to say," Professor McGonagall said with a pointed look at her Potions professor.

Harry was surprised to see Professor Riddle acquiesce so willingly to the Headmistress's superior knowledge, but didn't have time to ponder it further as he found himself suddenly expected to be speaking again.

"In my second year, similar things to this happened," Harry began slowly, his eyes on the Headmistress. "First it was the caretaker's cat. Then, there were several students..." At the collective shocked gasps that came from all sides, Harry rethought his words and corrected his mistake, "Oh, no, no one died. Not the cat or the students. They were all petrified, though."

Pandora hopped back onto Professor McGonagall's desk as Harry said the word cat. Absentmindedly, McGonagall began to stroke her and the cat settled happily in the center of a pile of papers.

"Whatever was causing these... petrifications... was coming from the Chamber of Secrets?" Black's voice was tense.

Harry swung around to face Professor Black. "It was. It was a Basilisk, left there by Slytherin himself, when he created the Chamber."

"A Basilisk? In the school?" Professor Riddle gasped.

"How is it that no one died?" Professor McGonagall asked, her hand stopped midway down the perturbed looking cat's back. "A Basilisk's stare is lethal."

Harry turned back to the Headmistress and nodded his head. "Yeah. But everyone was lucky that time. No one saw the gaze full on. It was either in a puddle of water, through a camera, and stuff like that. It was Hermione who figured it out in the end. Well," Harry conceded, "I suppose some of the professors might have known, as well."

"Dare I even ask," Professor Black said, his voice so low Harry thought he wouldn't have been able to hear it if they were any further apart, "why you felt the need to add 'that time' to the end of 'everyone was lucky'?"

Harry took a deep breath and paused for a moment before responding. All eyes on him, he final said, "It happened before."

"Am I to assume that not everyone was so lucky the first time?" Professor McGonagall said, looking Harry right in the eye, "

"There was one victim," Harry said. "She was killed by the Basilisk, saw it dead in the eyes. And she still haunts the school, even fifty years after she died. Without her, we might not have been able to figure out what was going on."

"I am almost afraid to ask, but I have to: Harry, do you know who was behind the attacks?"

Warily, Harry began, "It was the same person each time." Before McGonagall could ask for clarification, Harry said, "I mean, the first time, it was this person, and the second time, it was him controlling another person."

"I need a name, Harry."

Harry took another moment to glance around at the other occupants of the room. Professor Riddle was sitting cross-legged in his chair, looking pensive. Professor Black was still standing behind Harry, gripping the back of the chair so tightly that his knuckles were white. Professor McGonagall was putting forward a confident face, but Harry could see fear in her eyes as she waited for his answer. Only the cat looked carefree as it lounged on the desk, purring contentedly.

"Mr. Potter..." Professor McGonagall's voice broke him away from his thoughts.

"I..." he began, glancing warily at the man to his side. "I don't want to say."

Professor McGonagall sighed and adjusted her glasses again. "It isn't an option, Mr. Potter. I need to know. It may be a clue as to who is behind what has happened here. It might be a step towards preventing any more deaths."

"I'm not comfortable with..." he muttered, glancing down and peering out of the corner of his eye towards Professor Riddle.

"Harry!" He looked back up to see an angry expression on the Headmistress's face. His eyes widened in shock. "I am not interested in what you are or are not comfortable with. There is a threat to the school, and if you know something, anything, you must tell me." Her tone left no room for argument.

Slowly, making sure never to look at his Potions professor, Harry muttered, "It was Tom Riddle."

"Excuse me!" Professor Riddle's pensive expression was gone, replaced by a shocked one as he jerked up straight in his chair and glanced disbelievingly between Harry and McGonagall. "Are you accusing... I don't believe this. I don't believe you believe him," he snapped at McGonagall. "Obviously he's a bit mad, isn't he, seeming to think I was ever at his old school. Off his rocker."

"Tom!" McGonagall silenced him. "That's quite enough. I will thank you not to make comments about that which you do not understand."

Riddle sank back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, a foul expression on his face. Harry chanced a glance at him, and saw that the professor seemed to be muttering angrily to himself. Harry felt bad and, with a brief vision of Professor Snape, worried for a moment about what he could expect from Potions lessons after this. McGonagall spoke again and he left that thought behind.

"Sirius," she addressed the Deputy Headmaster who looked stricken by what Harry had said. "Would you be so good as to escort Mr. Potter back to his common room?"

"Of course, Minerva." Professor Black released his grip on the chair, but his knuckles still shined bright white. With a wave of his hand, he motioned Harry to his feet and opened the door.

As Professor Black led him down the staircase, Harry could hear Professor Riddle's angry voice from behind them: "I can't believe you would... Minerva, accusing me, ME, of killing a student fifty years ago with a Basilisk I didn't even know existed in a school I've never..."

The voice faded away as Harry and Professor Black made their way out of the secret entrance to the Headmistress's office.

"Don't mind him," Black said with a nod of his head towards Riddle's almost inaudible voice. "Bit of a foul temper. And, of course, he doesn't know that you mean another Tom Riddle entirely."

"You haven't told anyone about my... my situation?"

"We thought it best to keep it quiet," Black said. "Don't even want to think about what the Ministry would do if they found out about students popping up here. Honestly, our world is run by a mixture of incompetent fools and prejudiced assholes... excuse my language."

Harry laughed to himself. "Some things never change, at least."

"I take it the Ministry is similarly run in your world?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

Professor Black nodded to himself. He seemed to be lost in thought, so Harry walked silently next to his professor for a while. Finally, he spoke, "Usually Hogwarts is run much better than this. I can't imagine what Minerva... Professor McGonagall to you... is thinking. Damn the governors, there is no choice but to close the school. And after what you've told us! It'll be a student next, and then she'll see."

Harry didn't really know what to say to that. He didn't want to see anyone killed anymore than Professor Black did, but he also didn't have anywhere to go if the school was closed. Finally, he said, "Well, she must have her reasons."

"Yeah." Black snorted. "Her reasons. Playing politics, keeping her job. Those are her reasons. But," he said, stopping in his tracks and grabbing Harry's arm, "I really shouldn't be saying any of this in front of you. I better not hear a word of what I have just said to you being passed around the school."

"Of course not, Professor."

"Good." Black began walking again. "I will, of course, give my full support to Professor McGonagall. There's no way this school can be run with the professors battling each other. We can only hope to be as lucky as they seem to have been at your school the last time."

Harry nodded his agreement. Personally, he hoped they were luckier. Though he thought it unlikely, he found himself hoping that maybe the attack on the rat had simply been a well-organized prank. He hoped that nothing more would happen and that he wouldn't have to go through the horror of seeing his friends petrified, or worse, once again.

He and Professor Black walked the rest of the way to Gryffindor tower in silence. Before Harry realized it, he was standing in front of the Fat Lady, who looked a bit perplexed to see the Professor standing there.

"Well, this is where I leave you, Harry," Black said. "Do hurry and get ready for your classes. And, for Merlin's sake, do be careful today."

"I will," he promised.

Professor Black patted Harry on the shoulder, nodded his goodbye, and disappeared back in the direction he and Harry had come from. Harry watched him until he was out of sight, and then turned back to the portrait. "Chocolate frogs."

The Fat Lady swung right open for him and let Harry through the portrait hole. Harry let himself into the near empty common room and headed for the stairs. He was determined to make himself look presentable, if only to avoid more unwanted questions.

To be continued...

Scenes from Chapter 10: 'Care of Magical Creatures'

- "Well, he knows Weasley. From work and all. Knows the older kid, too, Percy. Says they're both scum. And tells me not to repeat that, but come on, everyone knows. Dad's wary of anything they do. Doesn't trust either of them."

- "We need to talk about something." His sunny demeanor of a moment ago was gone.

"Okay," Harry said nervously.

"I was looking around in your trunk this morning. I know, I know, I shouldn't have been," he defended himself, arms raised in surrender, before Harry could even comment. "I just wanted to have another look at your Firebolt..."

"You can't be looking through my trunk! I have private things there!" Harry was really quite upset. His textbooks that he was supposed to keep hidden were in the trunk.